Last week I tried to encode a 20 min showreel of HDV material ready for tape output, I used the usual export to HDV option. The HDV audio took about 5 mins, the video took abut 30-40 mins, using about 300% out of 800% cpu, not too bad. When this was complete the system began 'Multiplexing', this was using 2% of the cpu and after 2 hours it had got a quarter way through.

With a cinema screening looming I had to export the material from Avid, recut the timeline in final cut and master to tape, this took 25 mins to encode and be ready for output. I understand what multiplexing is in terms of MPEG2, so why on earth was it going to take about 8 hours to multiplex 20 mins of video and audio, and why using so little power?

I had mastered other 5-10 minute pieces from Avid to tape within about 20 minutes each earlier in the week, so this slow multiplexing behaviour seems abnormal. 

Can anyone shed any light? Avid does seem to use quite a bit less power than FCP when encoding, it's not a huge amount of difference on a short timeline so I can live with that. However this multiplexing stuff doesn't help deadline stress levels!

2xQuad 3Ghz 1st Generation

4GB Ram

Local Internal Storage for all media

MC 2.8

10.4.11

QT 7.3

el bumpo

another impossible problem?